Oscars restaurant will be sold in online auction

Oscars bar and restaurant is going on the auction block on Monday with the online Collar City Auctions Realty and Management firm based in Delanson.

Former owner John C. Tulip could not be reached for comment, and messages left with Collar City Auctions were not returned. A sign on the building advertises the auction.

The bar, which has been operating in Ogdensburg in various forms since the 1930s, last closed its doors in April 2012. Mr. Tulip cited higher-than-expected business costs.

Mr. Tulip had operated the bar since September 2011 and attempted to juggle it alongside his full-time job at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center.

The cost of doing business is forcing me to turn out the lights and close the doors, he said at the time.

Mr. Tulip bought the bar from Jack F. McGrath in 2011. Mr. McGrath purchased the business in 2009 from James Anderson and his late wife, Ethel, who operated the city landmark since the 1980s.

Oscars opened in 1934 as a saloon called Lassies. It was later known as Teds Bar and the Honolulu Lounge. In 1947, the name was changed for the last time to Oscars.

Bids on the 1222 Ford St. restaurant, its furniture and kitchen equipment will be accepted starting Monday. The auction, which is available online only, will end at 11 a.m. March 29. According to documents on their website, the property will be sold to the highest bidder.